Spraying with Bt weekly is supposed to help, too. However, if it rains, you have to reapply. You can also inject Bt into the stems of the plants above and below the site of the borer and supposedly kill the worm. I've also seen videos on YouTube of gardeners who slice the stem open, remove the worm, then close the vine and wrap with pantyhose or bury it to allow the stem to grow back together. I've tried Bt and it was marginally successful, but you have to be vigilant in applying.
ZONE 8 - SPRING season 2012
stephanietx,
thanks so much for your reply.
When I started to garden here in DFW I just couldn't believe I was not able to grow zucchini !
Many time I have heard from my (no-TX) friends that the easiest vegetable to grow is zucchini ... but I just couldn't !
I normally had just a few zucchini and after the plant will just wilt and dye.
I have read all about the SVB and seen the youtube videos ... spayed BT and bad stuff like Azatrol ... used the foil, the toilet paper roll and the silver mulch ... I am done !
So I just keep my finger crossed I might harvest some fruits ...
You let me know how you will do in Forth Worth ... it seems like you have the "gold" thumb for crops I cannot grow here in Irving.
We will probably try growing small pumpkins again this year, but we won't do squash. We'll plant the pumpkins in June or July. Need to check my planting calendar.
Drthor,
Some people don't understand the full concept of message boards and public discussion. Once a discussion is opened, anyone can choose to participate. Generally it is accepted that the content of messages posted are relevant to the topic/forum, but that has some flexibility. If a topic is not open for full, public, discussion then it should be done through e-mail or other private channels. It is expected on a medium like Dave's that everyone is permitted (even encouraged) to participate. Even the regional forums aren't restricted. It's generally considered that everyone can have relevant opinions and can contribute useful information regardless of their location. A case in point is Dr Carolyn Male, tomato expert. She lives in New York-- if she was only allowed to discuss tomatoes with others in her area the rest of us would lose a huge resource. Others may not be quite so expert, but still have experience and ideas to share.
David
sthephanietx,
could you suggest a pumpkin variety that does well in our Zone8a please?
dreaves
I agree with you and thanks for all your contributions.
So now, let's go back to happy gardening.
From the paperwork I have the SVB is usually active around April and May. The vining squash (pumpkins) that I grow I normally direct seed around June or July, so I miss the SVB "window".
I just talked to a friend of mine today and she just lost a zuke plant to squash bugs, I'm with Stephanie tho. I don't like squash enough to go to a lot of trouble to grow it. Lol
Mary, thank you I get how the roll protects the stem on bush varieties but I don't know how it would do on the vining types? But since I plant them later in the year I don't seem to have a problem. One reason that crop rotation is done is so pests won't continue to thrive in the same location. My first couple of yrs of gardening here I didn't have any problems with bugs but each yr after well...in So Cal I had Zukes coming out of my ears. Lol now I just plant later.
Linda, zukes are generally a bush plant, I don't think they need to climb on anything.???
The bugs are going to be bad this year. I know that anything I let complete it's life cycle will come back to haunt me next year. ARGH...Mary, since your in the same zone as GG you both can give us a heads up on what to expect. Lol
This message was edited Apr 24, 2012 10:04 PM
I was outside today removing all of those SVB eggs with a sticky tape ... I turned around and the SVB was just following me putting new eggs on the plants !!
By the way, the squash growing by itself in my compost bin is already huge !!
I will try to seed more plants like cocoa_lulu suggested later in the season ...
I've discovered a "stinkbug nymph nation" on a rosebush, so I'm popping them every day, before they grow up and attack my tomatoes.
Good thing nymphs don't fly!
Quote from stephanietx :
Spraying with Bt weekly is supposed to help, too. However, if it rains, you have to reapply. You can also inject Bt into the stems of the plants above and below the site of the borer and supposedly kill the worm. I've also seen videos on YouTube of gardeners who slice the stem open, remove the worm, then close the vine and wrap with pantyhose or bury it to allow the stem to grow back together. I've tried Bt and it was marginally successful, but you have to be vigilant in applying.
I think it would be interesting to try injecting the hollow stems with some BT suspension before the worms get in. If they are consistently boring in at the soil line, you need only inject that section of stem. AFAIK it is sunlight and/or rain that deactivates or washes off the BT protection, so if the bacteria are inside the stem it should persist, right? Hypodermic needles and syringes are available from most livestock supply stores - they sell the jumbo sizes needed for cows & horses, which would be dandy for a bunch of squash. No reason to do any cutting or pasting - the injection hole is very small.
Now I wish I'd left room in my plan for squash...maybe I can do without some of the beans.
-Rich
Quote from MaryMcP :
The reason you were successful with tromboncino is because it is a solid core vine. Zucchini, crookneck, and some other summer squash are hollow core vines, nice nesting for the SVB.
Is tromboncino a true squash or is it a gourd used like a squash? (What color are the flowers?)
-Rich
The flowers are yellow and the fruit is amazing.
I am away from my main computer ... but here some older posts:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8907618
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8906726
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8906732
I was upset I gave a lot of them away, because their taste was just the best.
They are yellow-orange inside and very very long !
I harvested millions in October last year. FANSTASTIC and really recommended !
Rich, the short answer is, it's a squash not a gourd. And they do grow quite large (long). Mine grew up (and over) my chain link fence. And don't forget about spaghetti squash!
cocoa_lulu, You are right about succession planting to get summer squash even if SVB are around. That was one method mentioned in an article I read about control methods. By the time the bug has decimated your first plant, the next ones are coming up. And so on. Good idea, thanks for the reminder.
Well,
Seeing as my one and ONLY Zucchini squash plant is getting ready for the journey outside, I'm thinking I might try Rich's suggestion and shoot that bad boy up early on. I was fascinated the first time I read about injecting through the stem into the predator without having to cut through too much of the stem.
My only concern is how the Bt will infiltrate the worm. Will external contact with the Bt do it, or does the worm still have to eat some of the vine pulp to ingest the poison?
Hmmmmmmmmm.
I guess these are the kinds of words Edison used before he invented that light bulb, huh?
Ok.
Bye.
Rjogden, tromboncino is a C. moschata. All moschatas are know for solid stems, and SVB resistance. Some I think of as pumpkins, others winter squash, or winter squash eaten young as zucchini, or zucchini.lol I guess it just depends on the variety, it's look, personal preference and, or, use.
I'm testing out 8 varieties of moschatas this year, going to narrow down my preferences.
I was just reading an article today on the Texas Gardener magazine about squash Tatume.
The editor favorite and SVB resistant.
I have found it on the web here:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2010/jun/tatume.html
Has anybody try this TATUME squash in zone 8a?
http://sustainableseedco.com/Tatume-Squash-Seed.html
I am ordering seeds
Beans are growing, Okra transplants are surviving, Cucumbers are making fruit
Tomatoes keep growing
Bye bye garden ... I will leave for a 2 weeks trip leaving my DH in charge .... ooohh
I have installed some extra security patrol for my tomatoes: Giovanni, Guido and Giuseppe ... the ferocious snakes ...
Wish me luck !!
While I was away my DH harvested some tomatoes ....weeee and send me a picture
He is the best.
Now I am back and I started to harvest lots of tomatoes.
The tomato plants are loaded of fruits.
ONly one of the larger tomato is ready, the othes are still green.
In this picture you can also see RADISH SEED PODS ... it was just too hot for the radish root to form, so I let them go to seed.
If radish seed pods are harvested small they are very tender and good to eat.
The rest of the tomato plants are going crazy.
My DH was "scared" to remove the suckers ...
My DH also couldn't fin any cucumbers.
He said that the leaves were too big.
Zucchini are making fruits
Okra is growing well
Eggplants are growing great leaves but no fruit yet
Peppers are also growing and they have lots of small peppers
So my DH did a good job taking care of the veggie garden I while I was away. Nothing died !
I shall award him a GOLD medal
Eggplants are making fruits already.
Cucumber keep producing.
Some of them have aphids ... but the lady bugs are here to take care of them
Tomato plants look so healthy. Definitely all the hard work and the early planting is paying off now.
and lots more ...
Grapes are also growing well
Lots of production from my veggie garden this year.
Definitely it was worth to start the tomatoes so early, look at some of my harvests
Pepper plants are loaded with green peppers
Eggplants are starting to produce.
They are very healthy and not signs of Flee Beetles ... I know they will arrive real soon thought !
Some of the Fennel came back ... you can see how the bulb is not forming, instead I am keeping them for the leaves (which they also host some butterfly)
In this pictures you can see: peppers (whit some fennel), eggplants, okras, cucumbers and at the end tomatoes
(on the left my DH pet area)
Okra is also growing well.
It seems like a few buds are forming.
Cucumbers are producing a lot too. Some of the plants have been attached badly by aphids.
I blasted them with water and the lady bugs are doing the rest.
